SpaceX Delays Sunday’s Falcon 9 Launch

new launch date not yet announced

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — SpaceX has delayed the Sunday launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with a payload of six Orbcomm commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 40.

SpaceX has delayed their Sunday launch of the Falcon 9 rocket which was suppose to cary several Orbcomm commercial satellites.

ORBCOMM issued the following statement indicating that more testing was needed on one of the six satellites:

All six satellites have completed additional testing and are functioning as expected. In an effort to be as cautious as possible, it was decided to perform further analysis to verify that the issue observed on one satellite during final integration has been fully addressed. The additional time to complete this analysis required us to postpone the OG2 Mission 1 Launch. We are working with SpaceX to identify the next available launch opportunity, and we will update the schedule shortly.

The new launch date has not yet been announced. According to Spaceflightnow.com’s launch schedule page, the mission was “delayed from September, November, April 30, May 10, May 27, June 11 and June 12.”

FIRST ROCKET COMPLETELY DEVELOPED IN 21st CENTURY

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.

Falcon 9 Rocket

As the first rocket completely developed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 was designed from the ground up for maximum reliability.

Falcon 9’s simple two-stage configuration minimizes the number of separation events — and with nine first-stage engines, it can safely complete its mission even in the event of an engine shutdown.

Falcon 9 made history in 2012 when it delivered Dragon into the correct orbit for rendezvous with the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first commercial company ever to visit the station.

Since then SpaceX has made a total of three flights to the space station, both delivering and returning cargo for NASA. Falcon 9, along with the Dragon spacecraft, was designed from the outset to deliver humans into space and under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is actively working toward that goal.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 sits on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 18, 2014. (SPACEX Image)